


A Hot New Adventure

by Frasers_soulmate, happy29



Category: due South
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 05:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5572522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frasers_soulmate/pseuds/Frasers_soulmate, https://archiveofourown.org/users/happy29/pseuds/happy29
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vecchio and Kowalski give Fraser a belated birthday present. A trip to Germany... will things go as planned for the couple?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Hot New Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my new friend and co-author for this great idea and helping me with details along the way. Watch for a possible sequel :) She isn't yet on the archive but working on getting her an invite. Hope you all enjoy this new adventure :)

“You want to get him what?” Kowalski threw his hands up in the air in mock despair. He spun around wildly and flung himself onto Vecchio’s plush leather couch. He flipped a finger in the air. “Let it be known that this is _not_ my idea if he hates it.”

“Benny’s not gonna hate it. You may, but not Benny.” Vecchio teased as he placed the pamphlet to Gotha, Germany back in the manila envelope. “You better pack your iPod and a couple car magazines to keep yourself entertained in case Benny gets too involved in the culture.”

“Too involved? Whatever. Knowing Ben he’ll become an honorary resident before we come home.”

“This is true.” Vecchio handed the envelope to Kowalski who exaggerated his eye roll when he took the item from his friend. “Come on, you’ll have a great time too. I promise. There are more than castles to explore there.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Kowalski toyed with his sun bleached spikes as he dropped his head against the back of the leather couch. “It’s been so freaking hot here this summer I don’t really want to be out in the weather.”

“There’s a vineyard about an hour away by car…”

Kowalski sat up suddenly interested in Ben’s potential late birthday gift. “Vineyard? As in wine?”

“Yeah, Dummy. What other kind of vineyard do you know of?”

“Okay, I can roll with that.” Kowalski relaxed against the back of the couch and started playing with his spiked hair again. “And Ben likes the occasional glass of wine.”

 “Just make sure _you_ drive the rental. Otherwise it will take half the day to get there.” Vecchio bent over and swatted Kowalski’s knee as he passed him on the way to the kitchen. “Oh, and make sure you drive on the right side of the road.”

Kowalski wrinkled his brow and swung around on the couch, dropping his slender arms over the back and peering towards the kitchen. “Which side is that?”

“The right side.” Vecchio answered from behind the refrigerator door. “You want a beer?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure. Beer sounds great.” Kowalski answered back and cracked his knuckles in frustration. “I know you have to drive on the right side smart ass, but _which_ one is the right side?”

Vecchio returned with two beers and tossed an unopened bottle in Kowalski’s lap. He shook his head and laughed from his belly. “The _right_ side.” Vecchio raised his head to the heavens. “Thank you sweet Jesus that I’m not going with the two of them.”

~*~

“What the fuck is wrong with the weather?” Kowalski grabbed for his suitcase off the luggage carousel and cursed under his breath when an overweight man cut in front of him and snatched his own luggage. “Seriously?” he snorted in annoyance.

“Ray,” Fraser pulled gently on the slender elbow in the hopes to reel in his partner’s building anger. “It’s okay. There’s no rush. We have two weeks ahead of us to enjoy our vacation.”

“There is a rush. A rush to get out of this heat.” Ray snarled as he watched his luggage disappear around the loop of the conveyor. “I just want to get somewhere where it’s cool, okay?”

“Good luck with that, Buddy,” a middle aged man behind Fraser snickered. “There’s no escaping the heat here unless you got a place that has air conditioning and those places are few and far between.”

“And who asked for you to stick your nose in our conversation where it clearly doesn’t belong?” Ray snapped at the man.

Fraser gave up his best smile and turned to the stranger behind him. “Thank you for your help and advice, however not necessarily invited, but I believe that my friend and I will be just fine. The heat is really no different than what we are used to at home.”

“It’s _way_ different.” Ray growled as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “It’s a whole fucking lot hotter.”

Fraser snatched Ray’s luggage as it passed in front of him and held it up triumphantly, a wide smile plastered on his face. “Shall we make our way to the Bed and Breakfast?”

“Lead on my friend.”

~*~

Ray dropped his suitcase on the floor beside the bed, the thud echoed and bounced off the walls of the spacious room. He eyed the bed and all the blankets and wondered aloud why they needed blankets on the beds in the middle of the summer, let alone a heatwave. He shrugged his shoulders and let his tired body collapse onto the king sized bed.

Fraser shut the door to their room and smiled fondly at Ray. His eyes were closed, his breaths even and slow. Ben could have sworn that Ray had fallen asleep the moment his body had hit the mattress. In all fairness, it had been a long day. He glanced at his watch and then the clock on the nightstand. It was seven hours later in Germany than it was in Chicago, add to that their travel time. No wonder Ray was exhausted. Ben yawned as the day quickly caught up with him as well. He sat down carefully beside Ray and patted his partner’s thigh. “Hey.”

“Hmm?” Ray mumbled without opening his eyes.

“Would you like to take a nap before we go exploring?” Fraser asked quietly.

“I’m not tired,” Ray mumbled again. “Just resting my eyes for a few seconds.”

“Are you hungry? I could call down and see if there is food available.”

“Too hot to eat,” Ray groaned as he struggled into a semi-upright position, twisting to his side and facing Fraser. He propped himself up on his elbow and let his head fall onto his upturned hand. “What the hell is up with this weather, Ben?”

“I don’t know but your hair is certainly not in agreement.” Fraser chuckled and ruffled Ray’s wilted spikes.

Ray slapped Fraser’s hand away and glared hard. “The travel agent said it was supposed to be forty when I called and asked about the weather. _You_ said it was going to be forty.”

“It is forty.”

“It’s the _wrong_ forty.” Ray grumbled as he wiped his brow on his shirt sleeve. “I packed sweatshirts and jeans expecting it to be cold.”

“It’s forty degrees _Celsius_ , Ray.”

“What’s the difference?”

“There’s a big difference. You see, you’re used to Fahrenheit…”

Ray shook his head and waved a finger in Fraser’s face. “No, I’ll tell you what the difference is… difference is we won’t be doing any snuggling to stay warm. You get anywhere near me while we are attempting to sleep…”

“We could buy a fan.” Fraser suggested as he swiped a stray strand of hair off Ray’s forehead.

“What is wrong with you, Ben? Huh? You're the planner, the detailed organizer of _everything_ …”

“Well in my defense, you wouldn't let me see the contents of your bag before we left. How was I to know you didn't pack appropriately?”

“You said it was going to be _40_...” Ray snapped.

“And it is…”

“Oh my God.” Ray groaned and fell back onto the bed. “What are we going to do about the heat, Ben?”

Fraser stood up and took Ray’s hands, pulling him gently into a sitting position. “Let’s go see about getting a fan.”

“That will help?”

“Well it certainly can’t be worse.”

“See.” Ray cocked an eyebrow. “You think it sucks too.”

“I will admit that it is a bit out of my comfort zone.”

“I knew I shouldn't have listened to Vecchio when he suggested this trip.”

“What was wrong with his suggestion? It’s a delightful city, a beautiful country.”

“Well it just sucks, okay? Not exactly what I signed up for when he suggested it. The weather blows and not in a good way…”

“We can remedy that by a change of clothing.”

“Yeah, except I ain't got a change of clothes. Remember?” Ray pouted.

“I’m sure that Gotha has department stores. We can go out and get you a change of clothing for our entire stay. Ray, I’m in a beautiful setting with the person I love most and I’m going to try and not let the miserable weather ruin our vacation.” Fraser tugged Ray’s arms until he stood up. He slipped an arm around Ray’s waist and pulled him close. “We’ll just have to get creative in our attempts to stay cool.” Fraser smiled and planted a soft kiss to Ray’s dry lips. “We can pick you up some lip balm as well. What do you say?”

“Sorry.” Ray returned the kiss and placed his forehead on Ben’s. “You know I get cranky when I’m hot and tired.”

“All is forgiven.”

~*~

Ray slammed the door and tossed the bags containing shorts and light weight tee-shirts onto the bed.

“I’m sorry about the fan shortage. At least we found you some more comfortable clothing.”

“I can’t believe there are no fans anywhere.”

“The clerk at the second to last retail store said that they have been experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures this year. Their stock has been sold out for weeks.”

“This sucks. I’m sitting inside and I’m dripping sweat.” Ray wiped his brow on his shirt sleeve and then glanced to the kitchenette. “You think they will give us some extra washclothes?”

“I can call down and ask.” Fraser quirked an eyebrow intrigued at the question. “What did you have in mind?”

“A cold shower. Lots of them.”

“You’re a genius my friend.” Fraser planted a kiss to Ray’s lips before picking up the phone and calling the front desk.

~*~

Ray pulled the sheet up to his waist and fished another ice cube out of the bucket. He ran it across his dry lips and then proceeded to trace the muscles on Fraser’s back. The melting ice cube left a wet trail and Ray could feel Fraser relax as he kept him cool. They took turns melting ice on each other’s bodies as the night wore on.

“What should we do tomorrow?” Ray asked as he enjoyed his own cool down session.

“Well, there is the castle here in Gotha we could visit. It’s called Friedenstein.”

“Gotha… is that short for Gotham?”

“Gotham?” Fraser asked confused.”

“Yeah,” Ray propped himself up on his elbows and turned his head to face Ben. “You know _Batman_. We could explore the Batcave. Surely it’s not 40 degrees down there.”

“We can ask in the morning for directions.” Fraser suggested knowing full well there was no batman cave anywhere in vicinity of Gotha, Germany.

“Greatness.” Ray settled back into the bed and let his head sink into the pillow.

“What _is_ wrong with your hair?” Fraser questioned as he picked at a wilted spike. “I’ve never seen it misbehave so badly.”

“The same thing that’s wrong with you…” Ray sat up and snagged a frozen washcloth out of the cooler he placed beside the bed and placed it on Ben’s forehead. “It’s hot.”

And in the end... both of them liked the heat, when the other one was involved.

After two days, the heatwave broke and a cold front moved in. Ray sighed in relief as they set out to explore the city after being preoccupied with trying to keep cool in their room for two days. Ice cubes only last so long before they have to be replenished.

Ray took Fraser’s hand as he led them to the nearby tram. “Happy belated birthday, Ben. Let’s try not to get into anything weird.”

“I can only promise to try.”

 


End file.
